Combat Arrangement: Monk vs Swordsman
Serah Doll stood at one of the entrances to the arena, a grown woman in the shape of a little girl, clad in her Draco-Lich panzer and her Lucky clover at her side, already carrying her four blades. She stood eager to enter the field and have a taste of proper combat, yet her master kept her at bay. "Remember, Serah, this is just a spar, no need to go all out in this endeavor. Besides, we don't want to permit too many of our abilities and strategies to leak out. Keep a collected mind and show restraint." He spoke. Serah nodded her head in annoyed agreement. "As you wish." Nothing else was said as she stepped out into the field. It was late spring, so while the weather would prove pleasant, it was nowhere near the dream weather everyone associates with the season. Walking upon the sands and taking a position in the middle, she raised her armor's visor to gain a clearer view, awaiting her opponent. Near the other entrance of the arena stood a small girl embracing a taller, muscular man. "Don't worry Shinran, both Guang and I are here to supervise the fight, so nothing bad will happen. This is just some practice for you since during away from the dark guild, but please keep in mind that you should limit yourself right now. Save the big guns for the Grand Magic Games, alright?" the girl said with a big grin and a wink as she let go of the hug. The monk looking man gave a soft smile and bowed towards the smaller girl. "Of course master, I will do you and your teachings proud. Thank you for arranging this opportunity for us in this safe space." Shinran said as he bid her farewell and stepped out towards the center of the arena. Keeping a stones throw distance between the two of them Shinran notices the knightly appearance of his opponent, and so he opted to pull out his own blade, one who's appearance was more like a sewing needle than a sword. Giving a slight bow to his opponent Shinran spoke up, "I graciously thank you for coming to this spar, I do hope it proves beneficial for both of us in both body and spirit. May I get your name before we begin?" The girl courtesied, an act which wasn't hampered in the slightest despite the heavily plated armor. "Hello mister. I am Serah. Serah Doll and I hope for lots of fun here." Serah spoke with a voice as light and innocent as that of the girl she looked like. She placed her left hand on the handle of the Lucky Clover as she approached just a few steps before stopping halfway and extended her right hand for a handshake. "Don't hold back on me, please." Shinran was surprised by how young the girl before him sounded, and based on her request it seemed like many have taken this into account and held back against her due to her size and presumed age. Shaking the armored hand of Serah. “I am honored to face off against a noble warrior such as yourself Ms Serah. I am Shinran Ikkyuu, and on my word as a monk, and Mage of Kairos, I will give you the fight you deserve.” He said with earnest as he took a few steps back and held up his blade with a soft smile.”Well as customs states, ladies first.” "How gentleman-like of you." Serah spoke in earnest appreciation, not simply for allowing her to go first as everyone and their mother would allow the same opportunity, but rather for not talking down to her. She took a few steps back, and squeezed the lever on Lucky Clover, letting fate decide which blade to start off with. The cylinder spun rapidly, and as she let go of it, the spinning sheath stopped at a blade with a white handle and pink wrappings. "Hekireki? Should come in handy." She spoke as she laid her hand on the blade of limited size. "Let's start off easy enough, ok?" She spoke as she swiftly drew the blade from its confinements in a wide sweep which sent forth a massive arcing blade of magic which traveled at great speeds towards Shinran, tearing up the foundation itself and thanking their guilds for having put up some defensive measures to prevent any greater damages to occur to the surroundings. Shall I make it a battle of swords then..? Hm, I will see how this goes and then decide. Shinran thought to himself as he noted the sword pressure wave coming towards him, a staple of any well practiced swordsman, but something that could easily be destroyed with the proper force. Swinging his blade at an angular slash, he let off a sword pressure wave of his own magic to meet the blast halfway and produce a large cloud of dust between them. Using his ability to see magic within the environment, he aims his needle at the spot where he sense the girl, keeping hold of it by generating wire from his fingertips that connected his blade to him. As he threw his needle forward with great speed towards the forehead of the girl, he began to run to the side, using his Photokinesis to hide himself and the wire by refracting the light around them so they appeared invisible. He gave himself enough slack on the wire to not deter the blades path, but made it short enough so he could pull the blade back if the girl wouldn't be able to dodge it. For his blade had enough piercing power that it would surely go through the armor, and Shinran didn't want a fatal blow to the head of his opponent. He then charged his holy light magic in his left palm, a unique symbol appearing on it, as he closed in the from the side to begin a Jōmon Sugi Thrust, in which he would go low to target the chin of the girl while she was being distracting by his incoming blade. Serah sheathed her Hekireki blade, still keeping her hand upon the hilt, ready to draw it again at a moment's notice. A grand cloud of dust and sand had gathered around her from the pressure impact, leaving her rather short of sight at the moment. Serah stood patiently waiting for a move. Too patiently. It made her slack off for just a moment, and at that moment, what appeared to be a giant needle came soaring for her head. With the cloud restricting her vision and her then relaxed stance, Serah proved unable to react in time for it. The blade soared through the air and struck at her forehead, protected by the armor. The needle made contact and with a heavy click of metal against metal, the blade bounced off of her armor, herself staggering a slight bit at the impact. With barely any time to react to everything that just happened, she heard the sound of footsteps quickly approaching. She turned to the direction of the sound, yet unable to see anyone approaching. The sound got louder and louder. Unwilling to take a risk, Serah jumped into the air, soaring up a good couple of meters before stopping, now seemingly using the very air as a foothold. "Hm, got the smoke but lacking mirrors?" Serah jokingly referred to his apparent invisibility, not really expecting an answer, simply enjoying talking out loud. "Let's see if we can draw you out." She spoke as she returned her sword to the lucky clover. With a light squeeze, she spun the cylinder and put her hand on a new sword, this one known as the Young Hound. "Temporal Iaijutsu: Haru Hōfuku!" she cried out as she swept the sword in an arc downwards, in the general direction of where she had heard the sound. But that would not be the end of it. This technique utilized her time magic in order to essentially copy her attack and send it in other directions as well, making the field of impact quite vast. She accomplished this by tapping into the timelines and effectively making alternate timelines in where she sent the blow somewhere else a reality at the same time. Shinran was impressed by the girl and her ability to react so sophisticated to his hidden attack. Senses such as that are truly a sign of a well painted warrior. But you are not the only one. Shinran thought as he saw the sword as the girl's means of attack coming back down towards him. Altering his output of light magic he turned his veiled body into his Light Body and smirked as the sword passed through him numerous times. He used this light energy from his spell to send it forward towards Serah as a concentrated beam of light magic, shifting back into his human form to pull on his wire and return his sword to his hand before changing direction and sending it upwards again with a swift toss from a perpendicular angle to his light attack. With no outcries of pain or injury, Serah could only come to two conclusions which would still keep her on her feet. Either the lack of screams indicated that he had managed to avoid any damage, or he possessed a really high pain threshold, either or, this was no time to relax. And true to her belief, not soon after the attack was finished, a great beam of light magic came soaring her way. She placed her left hand on the blade known as Shura Tsume, drawing it in a slicing arc, cutting through and nullifying the spell. She could already feel it's power increase, and while it was not by any considerable measure, she could feel Shura getting heavier, having wielded this blade for years now and knew exactly what was the appropriate weight. Keeping her eye on the price, she then also witnessed the blade coming from an angle. She swiped with the shorter blade and struck the needle away with the Young Hound, chipping the blade with her own sword's superior cutting prowess against inanimate objects. It was then, as the blade flew aside, that she noticed the wire connecting the blade to something else. Taking a bet that it would lead to Shinran, she dived downwards at astounding speeds, hoping to get the jump on Shinran before he could retract his needle, swinging in his direction with Shura, as the Young hound would not have the same damaging prowess. Shinran felt the tug of his needle through the wire that ran through his fingertips and knew that it had be deflected, but his mind was to full of wonder and jealousy at the fact that his light attack was merely dispelled by a blade. As his eyes picked up on the change in her stance he prepared for a counter of great proportions, seeing that normal magic attacks would not hold up as defensive measures against potentially all of his opponent's blades. Releasing a surge of Ki, almost instantaneously a sort of large rib cage protects him within it's chest, the bones themselves covered in a dancing purple mist of energy. The girl's sword makes contact with the bone, halting it in it's tracks while Shinran jumps backwards to give some space between them. "I am impressed that your selection of blades has forced me to bring about one of my trump cards, I was hoping to save Susa's grand appearance until the Grand Magic Games. But it looks as if part of his is needed to protect me from that katana of yours. This will hopefully be all you see of him." Shinran says as he comments on the floating giant ribcage around him. Pulling on the wire on his needle, he brings it back to his hands before concentrating an excess of magical power into his blade, creating surges of magical energy. From therein, Shinran makes a slash that builds up an extraordinary amount of momentum from the movement that goes behind it, therefore releasing destructive shockwaves of kinetic energy. His Heaven-Shaking Slash breaks up the ground beneath his feet and shoots forwards with incredible speed, while Shinran follows behind the glow of the magic attack, cloaking his free hand in a stigmata attack and positioning his sword hand in a jabbing motion so that he could hopefully sneak up behind his attack and get in a hit. If he slash was successful, he would have enough laps in Serah's focus to land a jab with his sword, followed by a palm thrust with his stigmata. But he kept his senses sharp so that he could use his light magic to quickly change positions and follow through with his attack, should Serah take off in the air again. Even from a couple of meter's distance, Serah could feel the immense pressure coming from Shinran's sword slash. Coming at too quick speeds for her to effectively dodge at such close a distance, she did the only thing which came to mind. "Temporal Displacement!" Serah cried out as the kinetic force seemingly vanished for but a moment before re-appearing behind her. Temporal displacement allows her to but one attack, any attack, out of sync with the world for a few seconds, essentially making it skip past some of the coming seconds before resuming. In short terms, she made the attack teleport behind her. However, no matter how many seconds she does this, or the magnitude of the attack, whenever she uses this spell it goes on a three-minute cooldown. This however also allowed her to lay eyes upon an approaching Shinran. Switching them in hand, She used Shura Tsume to swing against Shinran's glowing hand, hoping to deter him from advancing. With Young hound she went for his sword, hoping to chip at it further, surprised at it's durability despite Hound's supreme anti-equipment enchantment. Shinran knew his enchanted blade's kinetic absorption would help repair the damage it would take from the one blade, so he accepted the fact that his blade would serve as his shield against the Hound for the remainder of the fight; allowing him to focus his movements on protecting himself from the other more lethal blade. He knew that he would have to result to using his Art of the Mystan Monks, rather than relying ethernano, as he doubted the blade had the same effect on Manus. He was intrigued as to how his attack managed to be dodge, as his eyes almost seemed to shudder as they tracked his incoming attack, only to see it phase through her without any damage. But his mind could not afford such leisurely thoughts into dissecting her magic, as he saw that the two blades in the small girls hands were aimed to block both of his strikes. With little time to adjust his swords trajectory, he used it to block the Hound, but spun on his feet to alter his course and save his hand from being cleaved off. Now in a sort of fencing stance against Serah, Shinran changed the magic in his palm into a Manus Light Blast, as he switched his body's position, pulling his sword back and then thrusting his palm forward to release his concentrated energy of manus. His change of position proved too quick and sudden for her to continue her strike, and yet she still had the opportunity for a different measure. She drew back the Young Hound and Shura Tsume crossed them in a defensive stance, hoping to reduce the blow's impact. The strike came, releasing all the pent-up energy, and for just a moment, Serah allowed herself to smile. With Shura by her side in charge of the defense, the magic would just be nullified once more. And then she felt the pain. The blast came, ignoring the blade, sending her hurtling backward for a couple of yards, sliding across the grounds as she tried to regain her composure. The blow had knocked the air out of her lungs, she looked down to find her Hound blade nearly shattered, and she felt the heat in her armor's chainmail and plate. "Such power... And no Ethernano behind it? Or is it just like your skeleton thingy?" She spoke as she slowly got back up on her feet. She looked to her blades, Young hound close to shattering, Shura Tsume slightly warped, and herself still reeling ever so slightly. Feeling determined, Serah unbuckled the belt which held Lucky Clover tied to her hip, letting it fall to the ground and planting it before her. My master has ordered me to not go all out in this, no matter the cost, so two of my strongest measures for combat is forbidden. However, he never forbade this. ''She thought to herself. Serah sheathed her two blades once more, half-forcing the Shura back into its slot. She raised her left hand above the Lucky Clover and whispered a short incantation. "Meld" She then spoke, and with a bright light, the five individual pieces were no more. Embedded in the sand stood now a brand new katana blade: The Dragon of Seasons. She drew the blade from the sand and weighed it in her hand before grasping it fully. This katana blade, as a fusion of all her previous weapons and equipment held within it all their potent abilities, and new ones. With the sword she began to "carve" the air, writing the Kanji for dragon. "Let the dragon consume you." She spoke as with a tap of the finger to the hilt, the kanji surged forward at blistering speeds, a draconic head taking for at the front, dashing to deliver it's earth-shattering assault. Shinran had a slight smirk on his face as he noted that his attack hit, but he knew that his opponent would catch on quickly to his new methods and forge a different defensive maneuver to take on his Manus. But what came next was quite a surprise to him, rather than fortifying her defense, like most of Shinran's opponents have in the past, Serah instead took to strengthening her offensive power and pulling out a new blade from which Shinran sensed immense magical energy from. Not wanting to bring out more of Susa than he had to, he kept with the floating ribcage of his guardian but put both hands forth to erect a Photon Shield before him as he noted the symbol for dragon being carved into the air. Suddenly he could see the fearsome head of a dragon coming forth, tearing up the ground as it collided with his shield. But his Photon Shield was not enough to withstand the impact of such hurricane winds, and it shattered before him, sending him rolling backwards from the explosive collision of the two spells. Luckily Susa's ribs protected most of his body from serious damage, save for his calves and feet, but as he stood back up he couldn't help but surge with excitement at the skill of his opponent. Sheathing his needle at his side he stood up with gusto. "Your blade burns fierce with the strength of your spirit Ms Serah, I am honored to taste such vigor from a well seasoned knight as yourself." Shinran said with a pleasant smile, wiping off the dirt off his cheek before getting into a low stance and touching his wrists, bringing them back to his side and charging a ball of light manus and electricity between his cupped hands. "It is a shame we are both holding back though, but there is a sense of fear and excitement when you are fighting a chained dragon, no? Because who knows what will push it over the edge and unleash its true fury." He said as his attack finished charging and Shinran pushed forth a large surge of Manus from the middle of his palms, breaking the containment he had on the mass and sending the blast of lightning forward in a beam towards his target at a speed twice that of a lightning strike. His '''Great Dragon's Photoelectric Burst' was only charged to the First Strike, but it would still give off a shocking 30,000 amperes, as well as a light of 20,000 lumens; a light that was blinding enough for him to secretly send his blade beneath the earth and begin maneuvering it with his wire magic towards the knight. Serah sensed the great amount of Power Shinran was amassing in his palms, and Sarah allowed herself a moment of dread. She raised her sword and held it in front of herself, the blade and point pointing downwards as she charged forward, hoping to reach Shinran before he could unleash his spellwork. Unfortunately, she couldn't make it. The burst spell came and she had to hold on to dear life with her foothold and sword to not be blown away, and close her eyes with such intensity that it pained her, all to not get immediately blinded. He's really forcing me to burn through these. She thought as she swiped upwards, something that for a moment left her stomach exposed to the spell, burning at her gut. But it would be worth it. With the swipe, another air pressure wave of near literal block-buster capabilities surged forward, cleaving the burst spell and swiftly traveled towards Shinran. Three used, only two left. She looked down and was horrified to see that her armor was starting to break. The burst had scorched a smaller hole in the gut of her armor. While it would not lessen her prowess, heck, her armor could be in shambles and still offer the same properties, it did, however, leave a spot open for a precise attack. She jumped into the sky, and by using the air as foothold, she dashed down towards Shinran from an upwards angle. With the buster wave in the front and herself from an angle, she hoped to get a strike in with her dragon blade, and melded with her sword Amahagane, her sharpest blade of all,she hoped to be able to slice off a rib or two from that armor of his. Shinran felt himself being backed into somewhat of a corner as he saw the remains of his attack being sliced once again by an immense pressure wave, noting that the girl was taking a different approach with her sword, similar to what he had done moments ago. Knowing that his Photon Shield would not be enough to block both attacks, he mentally scoffed as he would have to result to showing more of Susa than he wanted if he were going to make it out unscathed from this barrage. Regardless of what I show from my hand, it has been a very educational match for my team none the less. He thought as he released more of his manus to bring about a single skeleton arm from the ribs, sporting a glowing shield as the ribs and arm took on a muscular form. With the muscles now covering the bone of his Phantom Guardian they began to secrete a puss like substance from their cells naturally, offering absorptive properties to his giant shield as the sword slashed down upon the shield, denting it's surface while Shinran was pushed along the dirt by the force of the pressure wave at his side. His face could be seen contorted a bit in pain, for although he didn't sustain any of the damage of the pressure wave, his sense were connected to his guardian, and so he felt the pain of the attack against his chest. Jumping back he let his Angelic Shield disappear, not wanting to give away too much of its power and abilities to his opponent. As the puss like secretions dripped on the dirt around him, he was thankful that it was a dirt field, letting at least one secret lie dormant for now about his guardian's true power. Thinking to himself that the puss would not be needed against such a steel based opponent, he reverted the ribs and arm back to their skeletal state and held his hands together to cast his next attack. Double Sight was one of his most prized spells, as he began to make illusions of himself around Serah in a sphere of his image, the identical appearance of himself floating around her to block her high escape. The illusions began to run around to distract her from Shinran's true location and give him the time he needed to maneuver his needle underground to her new location. The illusions then all pulled out a fake copy of his needle, throwing it towards her to give the illusion that she had no where to run, but in actuality the real needle appeared from below her, guided by Shinran's wire towards the spot where her armor had burnt away. Serah maintained her focus, even in spite of all these copies, hurtling their Needles in her direction, using her closed hand as a sheath, in which she sheathed her new sword. As it all came about, she calculated every direction she needed to go, every stance she needed to strike and every blade's trajectory. As she did this, she unleashed her temporal magic in what she hoped would be her saving move. "Temporal Iaijutsu: Sword Haze!" She cried out as she suddenly appeared as if she vanished into nothingness, only to appear in one spot after another, merely afterimages of herself. The Sword Haze spell allows her to speed up her own relative timeline so that the action she beforehand has decided to perform will occur at vastly increased speeds. However, by the time she had finished her move, she noticed something. None of the copies were deterred by her assault, her blade never connecting with anything. Too late for her to do anything about it, the true needle unearthed itself and made a light jab at her stomach which had been exposed after the previous attack. Crying out in surprise more than pain, she cursed herself for being so ill prepared for a surprise assault like this. Feeling that her time was short if her foe could perform moves as such, Serah dashed forward, deciding to try and end the fight with a single titanic blow. Dashing through the air, using anything and nothing as foothold, she advanced, and a mere couple of feet ahead of her, she raised her blade into the air and delivered a mighty slash downwards, enhanced and empowered by the final two sword pressure waves left in her blades, uniting to unleash a force unparalleled, hoping that she could break through the armor and knock Shinran down. Pleased that his blade was able to make contact and finally initiate his swords special ability, he couldn't even have time to revel in the fact that Saisen's Offering was activated before his eyes registered a small girl coming full force towards him with her blade pulled backwards. He had only a few seconds before the girl in the air would reach his position on the ground, he knew the amount of magical power she was storing up would be more of a devastating blow than the last. With little time he began began to chant the words for his Angelic Shield, the top parts of the shield coming into being as he saw the tremendous swing of his opponent come down. His Phantom Guardian was not developed enough to take such a devastating blow as his incomplete shield cracked under the pressure of the blades and disintegrated as the sword's pressure waves began carving their way through the rib-cage surrounding Shinran. With such a forceful blow being delivered back to him, his Saisen's Offering was only active for no more than a second, before it too disappeared along with his shield. Putting his hands up before his face and releasing his aura as a last means of defense, his body was flung backwards, his Guardian no longer protecting him from the lapse in consciousness Shinran had from the sheer pressure of Serah's blades. Every fiber in his being felt as if it was on the brink of tearing as his tumbling body finally stood still against the torn up dirt beneath him. With a bit of ache in his bones, Shinran stood up slowly, keeping his eyes on the girl who's blades were nothing like he had ever seen in this world. Pulling his own needle back to himself and getting in a defensive stance, Shinran thought about using his healing spell to allow him to keep fighting, but the fact that he will be facing Serah and her guild again made him hesitate showing all of his spells. With heavy breathing he gave a slight smirk, "I must say I am very impressed. Not many swords would be able to break my Susa's bones...it has actually never been done before until now. You are a fine swordswoman...But I am afraid that if we continue, there will be no surprises left should we face again. What say you to a sort of 'halt' to our battle? Something that we can continue at a later date?"